Is Revenge Wrong?
There's an old saying the sages left us:
Hate the sin, but not the sinner.
But here's the thing.
That sin?
It comes from people.
If the person doesn't change, the sin keeps coming. And people don't change overnight. Unless you're dealing with a little kid, rewriting the values and behavioral patterns someone has lived by for years is damn near impossible.
That's why they say you don't fix people and reuse them, right?
But if you keep applying relentless external pressure and stimulus over and over, even an adult's habits can be rewritten. There's a famous line from the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle:
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
Actions are temporary.
What actually matters is forging a repeating pattern and getting used to it—habit. In other words, everything starts with a person's habits.
Those fucking bitches have spent anywhere from twenty years to nearly forty getting comfortable in their own habits. And the clueless, brain-dead results of those habits are what left scars on the Yu Sihyun of this world. Right now those bitches are still busy adapting to this gender-reversed environment, so they've tucked their sharp teeth away. But the second they finish adapting, they'll bare those claws again and start scratching at whatever they can reach.
Which is exactly why, while those bitches still haven't gotten their heads on straight, I have to drill into them the habit of absolute submission to a man. It doesn't happen with a single act. You exploit the favorable environment, apply repeated stimulus and pressure, and before they even realize it, surrendering to me becomes second nature.
A dog that's been properly trained never bites its master.
Because it's afraid of getting scolded or hit?
No.
Because repeated training has made obedience to its master a habit.
Those fucking bitches are no different.
Before they can show those sharp teeth, I stomp them flat and train them thoroughly.
And of course, this is also my revenge against those bitches.
I'll pay them back ten times for the wounds they gave me in the original world?
No. A hundred times. Or more.
Thoroughly. Perfectly.
Is revenge wrong?
Doesn't revenge leave you with a guilty conscience?
Fuck that.
I find that kind of talk pathetic.
Look at the original world.
It's crawling with filthy bastards. Animalistic pieces of shit. Demonic motherfuckers who wouldn't even deserve a clean death if you tore them apart.
A sixteen-month-old baby was abused for not eating, went into cardiac arrest, got transferred to Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, and died. Autopsy already showed organs that had been damaged by impact at least a week earlier and then partially healed. There were roughly ten fracture-healing marks on just the arms and chest. Fracture sites included the collarbone, ribs, and both elbows—especially one elbow fracture that was either a defensive wound or the kind you get when an adult grabs a child's arm and throws them. Ribs don't fracture easily without external force, yet there was a continuous line of fractures across the front.
If you still think revenge is wrong, go tell that to the little kid who left this world without ever doing a damn thing wrong.
Kid, don't take revenge on the foster parents who killed you. Revenge is wrong.
You think you could say that kind of dogshit out loud?
December 11, 2008, Danwon-gu, Ansan, Gyeonggi Province—some fucking bastard sexually assaulted an eight-year-old first-grade girl on her way to school and left her with internal organ damage and other injuries.
That child will carry the trauma for the rest of her life.
Can you even call that living? Is that really a life?
And that fucking bastard got twelve years because he was old and drunk and therefore "mentally impaired." Now he's out of prison, living under the protection of the law.
If you were that little girl's parent—if you split that bastard's skull in half, ripped out his heart, and chewed it raw—who the hell would dare point a finger at you?
Can you still stand there and say revenge is wrong?
No.
Revenge is not wrong.
What's wrong is the dogshit Korean society and legal system that stops people from delivering righteous revenge on demonic bastards.
Those fucking bitches used the social environment and Korea's women-favoring laws to thoroughly exploit and destroy me when I couldn't do a thing about it.
They even toyed with my parents.
But the world has changed now.
And I will use every last advantage this environment gives me to take revenge and train those bitches until bloody tears stream from their eyes and they're broken beyond recognition.
Not taking revenge isn't kindness.
It's pathetic weakness.
Seo Yuri, who had bowed a full ninety degrees until the top of her head was all I could see, straightened up and held out the coffee.
"Sihyun-ssi. Here's the coffee you asked for."
She was doing her absolute best to smile and keep her expression smooth.
Truth be told, just looking at her face, Seo Yuri was easily top-tier pretty in the whole company. Her black bob sat neatly at her collarbone. Her face was on the small side, but her cheeks were soft and full. Her skin was white, her eyes clear and large. Her nose was straight and high, and her lips glittered like she'd put on lip gloss. Purely on looks, there wasn't a single flaw.
But the inside of this bitch's head was filthy as hell.
Fucking dog of a woman.
If someone told me I had to live with a rag-brained bitch like this, I'd rather just kill myself.
"Thanks. Good work. Take drinks to the rest of the team as well, and the conference room—"
Before I could even finish, Seo Yuri cut in.
"Yes. I'll hand them out to the team right away and tidy the conference room. Sihyun-ssi."
Definitely a fox of a woman—her instincts were razor-sharp.
If I train her properly, she might actually make a decent slave.
Seo Yuri scurried around like a squirrel, distributing the drinks to the team, then ducked into the conference room to clean it up.
"Hey, did Seo Yuri eat something weird? She's listening to Sihyun-ssi like crazy."
That was Assistant Manager Kim Seonghyeon.
"She got torn a new one in the conference room and must be reflecting a little. But it won't last. People don't change that easily. Just watch—you'll see whether I'm right or not."
My phone buzzed.
KakaoTalk!
Most of my KakaoTalk notifications were muted, so the only ones that actually made sound were from Han Yeseul, my parents, the guys at the company, and the original Yu Sihyun of this world's secret KakaoTalk room.
That secret room had a mountain of unread messages piled up.
Well—not unread so much as unreadable.
Most of the senders were from somewhere called JYK.
The secret chat only let me see previews. I couldn't open the full messages. But from those previews I could roughly piece together the overall content.
Judging by the latest one, this JYK person was on their way to our company right now. Honestly, I was curious who the hell JYK even was, and why the original Yu Sihyun of this world had put a password on this chat room in the first place.
I was still staring at my phone, turning it over in my head, when Assistant Manager Lee Miyoung shoved her big Chucky-doll face into my space and spoke up.
"Sihyun-ssi, you okay? Not sleeping today? Usually mornings at the office are basically your nap time, right?"
Huh? What the hell was this now?
I spent mornings at the company just sleeping?
"Excuse me?"
"You even showed up to the morning meeting you never attend, and you're just... different from usual, so I was wondering."
Just what kind of life had this world's Yu Sihyun been living at the company?
Mornings, Assistant Manager Miyoung brought him Starbucks like a servant, and he spent the whole morning sleeping at his desk?
I definitely needed to check this out.
"Assistant Manager Miyoung, meet me on the rooftop for a second. You're not busy right now, are you?"
"Huh? Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry. I was just worried because you seemed different from usual, Sihyun-ssi."
"No, it's nothing like that. Anyway, I've got something private I need to talk about one-on-one, so I'll head up first. Come to the rooftop three minutes after me."
"Ah, yes. Got it, Sihyun-ssi. See you in a bit."
I opened Excel, pretended to look over some work for a moment, then carefully slipped out of the Development Business Unit.
Ding!
I caught the elevator and hit the button for the rooftop.
The car was empty.
I sank into thought.
No matter how I looked at it, the identity of this world's Yu Sihyun had more than one or two suspicious points. And right now, the person who knew the most about how Yu Sihyun operated at the company was Assistant Manager Lee Miyoung. Getting information about this world's Yu Sihyun's office life from her was the fastest, smartest option available.
Beep-beep-ding!
The elevator stopped at the company rooftop.
Whirr.
I stepped out and stood in front of the automatic door; it slid open.
A cool summer breeze was blowing across the rooftop.
I pulled out my e-cigarette, put it between my lips, and took a deep drag.
Hooo.
Then I exhaled.
The vapor rode the summer wind and scattered away.
"Um, Sihyun-ssi. What did you need?"
I turned around. Assistant Manager Miyoung was standing there with both hands politely clasped in front of her, posture awkward and stiff. She looked like she'd been thoroughly spooked after watching what I did to Seo Yuri in the conference room.
"Ah, Noona Miyoung. Why are you freezing up like that? Relax your face. Relax. Someone's going to think I'm bullying you."
"Y-yes? No, bullying? Of course not. Anyway, why did you want to see me?"
"Ah, Noona—this is a private conversation right now, so drop the formal speech."
Miyoung awkwardly switched to casual language.
"Ah. Right. Sihyun-ah."
I put on a serious expression and got to the point.
"Actually, Noona. I hit my head a little on Friday and I think I've got a mild case of amnesia. You said I seemed weird at the company today, right? Truth is, I can't really remember how I used to live at the office. Think you could fill me in?"